Glasgow woman inspired by active gran's Parkinson's battle to walk 90 miles in her honour

Jennifer Dyer, from Croftfoot, revealed that her grandmother was in "denial" for a long time prior to her passing 10 years ago. 

Mary, who had 11 grandchildren, sadly died in 2019 at the age of 87.

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Jennifer said: "She was diagnosed with Parkinson's just before her 80th birthday and for a long time she was in denial. She was a very independent woman, she just didn't want people to know that she had an illness. 

"But she did really well with it, she fought it for a good five years before it started to deteriorate. "

Mary, who had a very busy exercise routine, would attend weekly dance classes and Thai Chi to stay fit and healthy. 

She fought the illness for five years before her health began to deteriorate.

Jennifer added: "She did end up in a home where she needed constant 24-hour care which was obviously really difficult to see and in the last two years of her life the dementia kicked in.

"It was really sad because I was always really close to my gran growing up. She had 11 grandkids and she just had time for everyone. She was just great, everyone who knew her absolutely adored her.

"She was so independent; she used to have a weekly routine. On a Monday, she would go to line dancing.

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On a Tuesday, she would be at Thai Chi. She was always really active and fit and healthy, so seeing her going from that woman to being bed-bound and having to be lifted was really, really hard."

Now, Jennifer is preparing to take on a 90-mile challenge in memory of her Gran. It marks the third fundraising campaign that the 27-year-old has taken on to raise awareness of the brain condition. 

She said: "When she passed away I made a promise to myself that I wanted to do as much fundraising as possible to raise awareness of Parkinson's.

"It might come to me at some point and if that is the case then I hope that by that point there is further funding in place and more awareness of the condition.

"This is my third fundraising event. I did Walk for Parkinson's back in Pollok Country Park a couple of years ago and I signed up for the Kiltwalk last year - obviously it was cancelled but I managed to get some great funds raised."

Jennifer had originally planned to organise the event on the day that would have been Mary's 90th birthday but has unfortunately been unable to do so. Instead, she will walk three miles every day throughout the whole month. 

Jan Mattison, Regional Fundraiser for West of Scotland, said: “Jennifer has set herself a real challenge by setting a target to walk 90 miles throughout April and we’re absolutely bowled over by the effort she is putting in. 

"We really want to thank her and wish her lots of luck every step of the way."

“There are more than 1,000 people with Parkinson’s in Glasgow City and these are difficult times for our community.

"Thanks to the amazing support of people like Jennifer, we’re adapting by boosting our helpline capacity, providing tailored online exercise classes and making sure people who normally receive face-to-face support continue to do so in new ways.”

Donate to Jennifer's online fundraiser HERE.